ARTIST NICOLAS EMMANUEL PEREZ
I was born in France on the 23rd of may and my astrological sign is Gemini. I am non-binary, sugar addict and my spirit animal is the butterfly. I live and work in Marseille.
Tell us about your greatest inspirations or influences?
My influences are varied, I am passionate about the rigorous composition of classical paintings but also the masterpieces from the Middle Ages with very strong archetypal symbolism. For drawings, I very quickly became interested in comics and generally I reject anything that has no fantasy ... Stories and fables have great importance in my work because these texts refer to our collective imagination, and are a means of underlining the absurdities of our Western/European societies.
Tell us a bit about your creative process?
My creative process is quite chaotic, to produce I do a lot of preparatory drawings to find the right balance.
In general, my work is inspired by gender's questions and problems, identity and consumption all in a (post) fairyland atmosphere. The narration between the images I produce is very important, which is why I work in series of 6 to 15 works. They allow me to tell a story through the multiplication of shapes and images.
How has the pandemic affected your creativity and how do you see the world changing?
The pandemic hasn't at all affected my way of working, I'm a bit of a hermit ... my life essentially boils down to the workshop so my daily life hasn't been upset at all ... On the contrary this free time allows me to produce more. Objectively the coronavirus doesn't worry me: I trust science. In my eyes the real issues are climate change which is destroying our ecosystem and the discrimination suffered by minorities. In hindsight I notice these two problems form one and they can't be dealt one without the other.
Who do you consider to be an icon of our time?
IEL is my heart icon ... In my mind she/he is a radiant human being emancipated from all gender and race.
In French the word IEL is a pronoun that designates masculine and feminine at the same time (contraction of he/il and she/elle). This simple word for me carries a strong social message and an innovative vision of the world.IEL questions the entrenched patriarchy of our societies and places the ethical notion of equality and the right to exist for all.
What does wellbeing mean to you, and what do you practice?
Well-being for me is being able to draw and paint every day but my little secret is to drink a lot of cider and eat cake. At the moment I am passionate about charlotte, a wonderful dessert made with biscuits, fluff and fruits... it’s so delicious Omgggg, I feel like Marie-Antoinette!
Anything else you would like to share?
Some of my favourite Movies:
"Le Roi et l'Oiseau" by Paul Grimault 1953
"Kanał" by Andrzej Wajda, 1957
"Peau d'âne" by Jacques Demy, 1970
"La planète sauvage" by René Laloux, 1973
"Suspiria" by Dario Argento, 1977
"C'est arrivé près de chez vous" by Benoît Poelvoorde, Rémy Belvaux and André Bonzel,1992
"Braindead" by Peter Jackson, 1992
"Old boy" by Park Chan-wook, 2004
"Tale of Tales" by Matteo Garrone, 2015
